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Concept
Viable system theory
Summary
Viable system theory (VST) concerns cybernetic processes in relation to the development/evolution of dynamical systems. They are considered to be living systems in the sense that they are complex and adaptive, can learn, and are capable of maintaining an autonomous existence, at least within the confines of their constraints. These attributes involve the maintenance of internal stability through adaptation to changing environments. One can distinguish between two strands such theory: formal systems and principally non-formal system. Formal viable system theory is normally referred to as viability theory, and provides a mathematical approach to explore the dynamics of complex systems set within the context of control theory. In contrast, principally non-formal viable system theory is concerned with descriptive approaches to the study of viability through the processes of control and communication, though these theories may have mathematical descriptions associated with them.
The concept of viability arose with Stafford Beer in the 1950s through his paradigm of management systems. Its formal relative, viability theory began its life in 1976 with the mathematical interpretation of a book by Jacques Monod published in 1971 and entitled Chance and Necessity, and which concerned processes of evolution. Viability theory is concerned with dynamic adaptation of uncertain evolutionary systems to environments defined by constraints, the values of which determine the viability of the system. Both formal and non-formal approaches ultimately concern the structure and evolutionary dynamics of viability in complex systems.
An alternative non-formal paradigm arose in the late 1980s through the work of Eric Schwarz., which increases the dimensionality of Beer's paradigm
The viable system theory of Beer is most well known through his viable system model and is concerned with viable organisations capable of evolving. Through both internal and external analysis it is possible to identify the relationships and modes of behaviour that constitute viability.
Official source
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